This invention relates to improvements in high-speed apparatus manufacturing discrete, solid particular objects, such as tablets, and more particularly to high-speed, accurate counting and processing of the objects produced by such apparatus.
With the advent of recent legislation involving controlled substances, and in an effort to deal with greater and greater production demands requiring also a substantial degree of accuracy, the problem is acutely recognized that the combined features of very accurate, high-speed and large-volume counting and handling (or processing) of such objects as tablets are not available in or with existing apparatus. For the most part counting is presently accomplished in bulk by weight measurement which procedure has been shown to be inadequate where, for example, a high level of accuracy is important, particularly in high-speed, large-volume production operations. Moreover, the need particularly remains unfulfilled as to high-speed, accurate counting and handling arrangements adaptable to dual or multiple output production apparatus, i.e. apparatus simultaneously providing two or more continuous output streams of solid particular objects.
Present desired criteria sought in the pharmaceutical industry include, as example, the capability that 10.sup.6 units such as tablets be counted and processed per hour with an accuracy of 0.01%. To this are added such other desired features or criteria as adaptability to varying forms of high-speed apparatus, simplicity of arrangement, ease and minimal need of maintenance, compactness, reasonable cost and long-life.